Chapter 16 of Ralph on the Overland Express is here in full — 95 sentences across 19 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XVI
Chapter 16 of Ralph on the Overland Express is here in full — 95 sentences across 19 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
ZEPH DALLAS AND HIS "MYSTERY" "Whistling language?" repeated Fred Porter. "Is there one?" "Aha! didn't I say I was going to show you something you never heard of before? You bet there is a whistling language!" chuckled Zeph--"and I'm now about to demonstrate it to you. You see these two boys?
Chapter 16 of Ralph on the Overland Express is here in full — 95 sentences across 19 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/19 · 5 reading units · Lines 1–5
These definitions explain words found in the current reading and keep every example grounded in its original sentence.
Oxford-style entry order: headword, part of speech, US IPA, concise definition, contextual example, and audio.
maintain with or as if with a bet
From this reading “You bet there is a whistling language!" chuckled Zeph--"and I'm now about to demonstrate it to you.”
past form of “chuckle” — laugh quietly or with restraint
From this reading “You bet there is a whistling language!" chuckled Zeph--"and I'm now about to demonstrate it to you.”
a large commercial and industrial city in northeastern Texas located in the heart of the northern Texas oil fields
From this reading “ZEPH DALLAS AND HIS "MYSTERY" "Whistling language?" repeated Fred Porter.”
give an exhibition of to an interested audience
From this reading “You bet there is a whistling language!" chuckled Zeph--"and I'm now about to demonstrate it to you.”
a systematic means of communicating by the use of sounds or conventional symbols
From this reading “ZEPH DALLAS AND HIS "MYSTERY" "Whistling language?" repeated Fred Porter.”
something that baffles understanding and cannot be explained
From this reading “ZEPH DALLAS AND HIS "MYSTERY" "Whistling language?" repeated Fred Porter.”
a person employed to carry luggage and supplies
From this reading “ZEPH DALLAS AND HIS "MYSTERY" "Whistling language?" repeated Fred Porter.”
the sound made by something moving rapidly or by steam coming out of a small aperture
From this reading “ZEPH DALLAS AND HIS "MYSTERY" "Whistling language?" repeated Fred Porter.”
Every word in these five lines is listed here, and every one of them can be played on its own.
Dictionary details are shown only when verified; these are not licensed Oxford entries.
used before a singular noun to mean one of a group, when it is not a particular one
From this reading You bet there is a whistling language!" chuckled Zeph--"and I'm now about to demonstrate it to you.
on the subject of; concerning
From this reading You bet there is a whistling language!" chuckled Zeph--"and I'm now about to demonstrate it to you.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Aha! didn't I say I was going to show you something you never heard of before?
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading ZEPH DALLAS AND HIS "MYSTERY" "Whistling language?" repeated Fred Porter.
earlier than; in front of
From this reading "Aha! didn't I say I was going to show you something you never heard of before?
maintain with or as if with a bet
From this reading You bet there is a whistling language!" chuckled Zeph--"and I'm now about to demonstrate it to you.
plural of “boy” — a youthful male person
From this reading You see these two boys?
past form of “chuckle” — laugh quietly or with restraint
From this reading You bet there is a whistling language!" chuckled Zeph--"and I'm now about to demonstrate it to you.
a large commercial and industrial city in northeastern Texas located in the heart of the northern Texas oil fields
From this reading ZEPH DALLAS AND HIS "MYSTERY" "Whistling language?" repeated Fred Porter.
give an exhibition of to an interested audience
From this reading You bet there is a whistling language!" chuckled Zeph--"and I'm now about to demonstrate it to you.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Aha! didn't I say I was going to show you something you never heard of before?
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading ZEPH DALLAS AND HIS "MYSTERY" "Whistling language?" repeated Fred Porter.
the act of departing
From this reading "Aha! didn't I say I was going to show you something you never heard of before?
detected or perceived by the sense of hearing
From this reading "Aha! didn't I say I was going to show you something you never heard of before?
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading ZEPH DALLAS AND HIS "MYSTERY" "Whistling language?" repeated Fred Porter.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading "Aha! didn't I say I was going to show you something you never heard of before?
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading You bet there is a whistling language!" chuckled Zeph--"and I'm now about to demonstrate it to you.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading "Is there one?"
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading You bet there is a whistling language!" chuckled Zeph--"and I'm now about to demonstrate it to you.
a systematic means of communicating by the use of sounds or conventional symbols
From this reading ZEPH DALLAS AND HIS "MYSTERY" "Whistling language?" repeated Fred Porter.
something that baffles understanding and cannot be explained
From this reading ZEPH DALLAS AND HIS "MYSTERY" "Whistling language?" repeated Fred Porter.
not ever; at no time in the past or future
From this reading "Aha! didn't I say I was going to show you something you never heard of before?
in the historical present; at this point in the narration of a series of past events
From this reading You bet there is a whistling language!" chuckled Zeph--"and I'm now about to demonstrate it to you.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading "Aha! didn't I say I was going to show you something you never heard of before?
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading "Is there one?"
a person employed to carry luggage and supplies
From this reading ZEPH DALLAS AND HIS "MYSTERY" "Whistling language?" repeated Fred Porter.
recurring again and again
From this reading ZEPH DALLAS AND HIS "MYSTERY" "Whistling language?" repeated Fred Porter.
express in words
From this reading "Aha! didn't I say I was going to show you something you never heard of before?
perceive by sight or have the power to perceive by sight
From this reading You see these two boys?
give an exhibition of to an interested audience
From this reading "Aha! didn't I say I was going to show you something you never heard of before?
a thing, without saying which
From this reading "Aha! didn't I say I was going to show you something you never heard of before?
in or at that place or location
From this reading "Is there one?"
the plural of “this”: the people or things near, or just mentioned
From this reading You see these two boys?
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading "Aha! didn't I say I was going to show you something you never heard of before?
the cardinal number that is the sum of one and one or a numeral representing this number
From this reading You see these two boys?
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading "Aha! didn't I say I was going to show you something you never heard of before?
the sound made by something moving rapidly or by steam coming out of a small aperture
From this reading ZEPH DALLAS AND HIS "MYSTERY" "Whistling language?" repeated Fred Porter.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading "Aha! didn't I say I was going to show you something you never heard of before?
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading ZEPH DALLAS AND HIS "MYSTERY" "Whistling language?" repeated Fred Porter.
Chapter 16 of Ralph on the Overland Express by Allen Chapman holds 95 sentences, grouped into 19 reading sections of at most 5 sentences. The text is the source edition, unabridged, and the chapter records which sentences cover which part of the work so that nothing is dropped. Every word can be tapped for its pronunciation and dictionary entry.
Chapter 16 holds 95 sentences of Ralph on the Overland Express, unabridged, divided into 19 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 16 of Ralph on the Overland Express by Allen Chapman exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 95 sentences, grouped into 19 sections of at most 5 sentences so that a reader can take the chapter in steady, finishable pieces. The chapter also stores a coverage record mapping every one of its sentences to a part of the work, which is how the edition demonstrates that no line was dropped.
Work through the 19 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 19 sections in this chapter is short enough to read once, hear once, and then re-read with the vocabulary in view. Tapping a word plays it alone and opens its dictionary entry with IPA, part of speech and meaning, so the reader is never forced to guess a pronunciation from spelling. Working section by section keeps a long chapter from becoming an undifferentiated wall of text, which is the usual reason a reader abandons a work of this period.
Yes — every sentence and every individual word in chapter 16 can be played aloud in United States English.
Audio covers the whole chapter: any sentence can be played, and any single word within it can be played on its own. The voice uses United States English. For a work of this period that matters, because spelling is an unreliable guide to pronunciation for vocabulary that has fallen out of daily use, and a learner who guesses wrong tends to keep the error. Hearing the word in its own sentence, and then alone, settles it.
Common questions about reading Ralph on the Overland Express by Allen Chapman on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 3822 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #28655 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #28655, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 318 minutes of reading across 765 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Ralph on the Overland Express section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 31 chapters of Ralph on the Overland Express to begin.
Each section holds 5 sentences; read it once through.
Play the section aloud, then tap any unfamiliar word for its entry.
Words and structures a reader meets early in Ralph on the Overland Express, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
